Liquid fuels turbine and method of operating it



y 1955 E. A. MAYNOR 2,707,373

LIQUID FUELS TURBINE AND METHOD OF OPERATING IT Filed May 20, 1948 INVENTOR. 63/26 (271762 720 5&9 rvww, I V IA W United States Patent 0LIQUID FUELS TURBINE AND METHOD OF OPERATING IT Eugene A. Maynor,Chicago, Ill., assignor to Maynor Research Foundation, Inc., Chicago,Ill., :1 corporation of Illinois Application May 20, 1948, Serial No.28,208

4 Claims. (Cl. 60-39.02)

My invention relates, generally, to liquid fuels turbines and it hasparticular relation to their method of operation and details ofconstruction.

Liquid fuels turbines differ radically from what are generally known inthe art as constant pressure or airgas turbines. The latter require asource of air and oxygen from outside the engine itself. This air mustbe compressed before entering the engine. I provide, on the other hand,a closed combustion chamber which does not employ an outside source ofcompressed air and, consequently, has no openings in the chamber topermit the entrance of such air. In accordance with my invention,complete reliance is placed upon the particular fuels and their ratio,properties and functions, to produce the required power.

In the art of rockets, liquid fuel and oxidizers are used to provide thepropulsion force to propel the rocket. The use of these fuels andoxidizers to drive a turbine has been impeded by the fact that certainditficulties in the operation of such turbines appear to beinsurmountable.

There are three main difiiculties in the operation and construction ofliquid fuels turbines which, heretofore, have been considered to beinsurmountable The present invention provides a complete and adequatesolution to each of these difficulties. By the term liquid fuels turbineas used herein, I mean a turbine which utilizes, by combining underconditions of combustion, a fuel and an oxidizer, in non-gaseous form,such as, for example, a liquid fuel and a liquid oxidizer.

One of the problems that has been encountered in the operation of liquidfuels turbines is the carbonization of the turbine wheel. It has beenfound that the blades of the turbine wheel have a deposit of carbonthereon which changes their contours and finally causes it to becomecompletely clogged up.

A second difficulty which has been encountered is the erosion of theblades of the turbine wheel which results from the application theretoof excessive temperature. Heretofore it has not been found possible togenerate the required gas jet for impinging on the blades of the turbinewheel to rotate it without at the same time employing such a hightemperature that erosion of the blade surfaces results from the flow ofthe gas jet thereover.

The third problem which has been encountered is the explosion of liquidsaccumulating at the bottom of the combustion chamber. There have beenseveral instances where these liquids, which have collected at thebottom of the combustion chamber, have caused severe explosions ofsufficient intensity not only to destroy the liquid fuels turbine butalso to injure and kill personnel operating it.

Accordingly, among the objects of my invention are: To operate a liquidfuels turbine in such manner that there is no carbonization of theturbine wheel or no deposit of carbon on its blades; to prevent erosionof the surfaces of the combustion chamber, jet orifices, and blades ofthe turbine wheel resulting from operation at 2,707,373 Patented May 3,1955 ICC excessive temperatures; and to prevent the accumulation ofliquids at the bottom of the combustion chamber where they are likely toexplode and destroy the apparatus as well as to cause injury topersonnel in the vicinity.

There have been efforts to construct a liquid fuels turbine whichemployed the full admission theory. Such a structure contemplates thebuilding up of pressure in chamber and the separate release of all ofthat pressure to the blades of the turbine wheel. Such a structurerequires the presence of numerous valves, timing devices, etc. Inaccordance with my invention, which may be considered a chemicalreaction turbine employing partial admission, 1 so construct anddimension my combustion chamber and gas discharge nozzles as to permitthe continuous build-up of pressure in the chamber while simultaneouslypermitting sufiicient pressure to be exerted through the nozzles todrive the turbine. I thus escape the requirement for numerous injectionand discharge valves, timing devices, etc. Moreover, the full admissiontheory required a scavenging operation, which is unnecessary in myinvention.

Other objects of my invention will, in part, be obvious and in partappear hereinafter.

My invention is disclosed, in part, in the embodiment thereof shown inthe accompanying drawing, and it comprises the features of construction,combination of elements, arrangement of parts, and method steps whichwill be exemplified in the construction and mode of operationhereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will beindicated in the appended claims.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of myinvention reference may be had to the following detailed description,taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in section,illustrating how a chemical reaction turbine can be constructed inaccordance with my invention; and

Figure 2 is a detail sectional view, at an enlarged scale, taken alongthe line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Referring now particularly to Figure l of the drawing, it will beobserved that the reference character 8 designates, generally, a loaddevice, such as an electric generator, having a shaft 9 which supportsat one end a turbine Wheel that is indicated, generally, at 10, whichnormally must be operated at constant shaft R. P. M. (revolutions perminute) but with a fluctuating load. The turbine wheel 10 has blades 11around its periphery which maybe forty-two in number and which havegenerally straight entrance and intermediate portions and which havecurved discharge end portions against which the jet reacts to drive theturbine wheel 10 in. the manner readily understood. The turbine wheel iscontained within the housing 15 at the opposite side of the gas director13 from the combustion chamber 14.

The gas jet for driving the turbine wheel 10 is directed against theblades 11 through nozzles or orifices 12 which are located in theperiphery of a gas blast director 13 that is positioned near thedischarge end of a combustion chamber 14 in a housing that is indicated,generally, at 15. As shown more clearly in Figure 2 of the drawing, fournozzles 12 are provided in the director 13 which may be formed ofstainless steel or other heat resistant material and in the particularembodiment of the invention which has been constructed has a diameter offour inches. In this construction the nozzles 12 are one-eighth inchwide and three-fourths inch deep. The director 13 is positioned in theoutlet end of the combustion chamber 14 so that one of the nozzles 12 isat the bottom as shown. The purpose of this will be set forth presently.It will be understood that the jet, which is generated within thecombustion chamber 14, expands outwardly through the 3 nozzles 12 andimpinges on the curved portions of the turbine blades 11 to cause theturbine wheel lti'to rotate and drive the electric generator 8 or otherload device which may be connected to the turbine wheel 10 as will beunderstood readily.

The housing 15 may comprise an inner shell 16 and an outer shell 17 ofstainless steel having a layer 18'of carbon therebetween or a jacket forregenerative purposes. It will be understood that the carbon layer 18may be removed and one of the fuels may be pumped between the inner andouter shells 16 and 17 to provide a coolant for the combustion chamberwall. These materials and this construction are employed because of therelatively high temperature existing in the combustion chamber. 14 as aresult of the burning of the products therein employed to generate thenecessary jet for driving the tufbine wheel 10.

At the other end of the housing 15 there is provided a fuel injectorthat is shown, generally, at 21. Since the details of construction of.the fuel injector 21 are set forth at length in my copendingapplicationSerial No. 5,633 filed January 31, 1948, now Patent No. 2,575,824, andassigned to the assignee of this application, a further descriptionthereof will not be given herein. The fuel may be injected in a constantstream or in continuous, extremely rapid injections.

The fuel injector 21 has fluid inlet conduits 22 and 23 connectedthereto for supplying fluids which, when intermixed properly, supportcombustion in the chamber 14. Shut off valves 24 and 25 may be providedin the conduits 22 and 23. They are shown in the closed position and arearranged to be opened simultaneously by a spring driven drum 26 which isrestrained by a pawl 27. When the pawl 27 is released, the drum 26rotates to open the valves 24 and 25. The fuels are fed from filledtanks 28 and 29 under pressure which may be created in any standardmanner.

It will be observed that the conduits 22 and 23 extend into fluid tanks28 and 29, respectively. The tank 28 may contain a fuel such as aniline,ammonia, furfuryl alcohol and. nitrobenzene. such as nitric acid, picricacid, hydrogen peroxide, liquid oxygen or other oxidizers. Of thesefuels and oxidizers respectively, aniline and furfuryl alcohol, on theone hand, and nitric acid, picric acid, and hydrogen peroxide,

on the other hand, are, in combination, spontaneously combustible. Theother fuels and oxidizers listed, as well as some other suitable fuelsand oxidizers not mentioned herein, require separate ignition; and, inthe use of such fuels and oxidizers, any suitable conventional ignitionsystem could. be used.

Referring now to the difficulties enumerated hereinbefore which havebeen incident to the operation of chemical reaction gas turbines andparticularly to the carbonization of the blades 11 of the turbine wheel10, I have found that this is the result of imperfect combustion.Previously it has been considered to be desirable to employ suchamountsof oxidizer and fuel in the ratio which provides theoretically perfector stoichiometric combustion. I have found that when this is done acertain amount of carbon residues is left which is deposited ontheblades 11 of the turbine wheel 10. This carbon deposit reducestheetficiency of the turbine wheel10-and finally completely clogs up thespaces between the blades 11. when this occurs it has been necessary todismantle the turbine in order to clean the blades 11 or to replace theturbine wheel 10 with a new one.

I overcome this difficulty by using an excess of oxidizer over thatwhich is required to provide theoretically perfect combustion. Inthepast it has been the practice to employ a ratio of three parts ofoxidizer to one part of fuel, the ratio being by weight. Specifically,this .ratio of three to one has been employed where the oxidizer hasbeen nitric acidand the fuel has been aniline. When such a ratio ofoxidizer to fuel is employed, the carbonization and erosion of theturbine wheel 10 and nozzles 12 re- The tank 28 may contain an oxidizerIn the past sult in the manner described. In many types of engines inwhich this problem arises in varying degrees, attempts have been made toprovide devices for the removal of carbon, such as additional compressedair or a coolant contained within turbine blades, etc. In accordancewith my invention I prevent the carbonization of the elements of mydevice from ever occurring and thus escape the need for devices designedto remove such defects after they occur.

As indicated, I have found that if an excess of oxidizer is employed inthe proper ratio the carbon which otherwise would have been deposited onthe blades 11 of the turbine wheel 10 unites with oxygen to form carbonmonoxide or other gases which flow with the gas jet over the blades 11of the turbine wheel 19 and are exhausted to the atmosphere. Theparticular ratio of oxidizer to fuel is important. Where the oxidizer isnitric acid and the fuel is aniline I have found that the maximum ratioshould be of the order of five to one for initial ignition. Using thisratio of nitric acid to aniline I have found that the excess carbon,otherwise deposited as a result of theoretically complete combustion,unites with the excess nitric acid as described and flows as a gas tothe atmosphere.

Another important result of using this oxidizer to fuel ratio is thatthe excess acid is vaporized and therefore acts as a coolant which flowsthrough the nozzles 12 in the director 13. This coolant reduces thetemperature in the combustion chamber 14 and thus reduces thetemperature of the jet which impinges on the blades 11 of the turbinewheel 10. In this manner the second (lllficulty, above referred to, oferosion of the blades of the turbine wheel resulting from excessivetemperature is overcome.

The third difficulty which has been encountered. in the construction andoperation of chemical reaction gas turbines has been the accumulation ofliquids at the bottom of the combustion chamber 14. By positioning thenozzle 12, as shown in the drawing, at the bottom of the combustionchamber 14, it is not possible for any appreciable amount of liquid toaccumulate at this point since it is free to flow outwardly through theexhaust end of the combustion chamber 14 in the housing 15. Any liquidwhich collects at this point is forced outwardly through the nozzle 12at the bottom of the combustion chamber 14 as a result of the pressureexerted thereon which is generated therein due to the combustion of theproducts employed for. generating the jet.

I have shown by numerous tests that a chemical reaction gas turbineconstructed as described herein and operated in the manner outlinedabove provides a highly satisfactory performance. Thus there has beenprovided a complete solution to the several difiiculties which haveheretofore confronted those working in this art and the same has beenadvanced correspondingly.

Since certain changes can be made in the foregoing construction andmethod of operation and ditferent ernbodiments of the invention can bemade Without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intendedthat all matter shown in the accompanying drawing and describedhereinbefore shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of operating a liquid fuels turbine to avoid carbonizationand erosion of the turbine blades, combustion chamber and nozzles which.comprises mixing and burning a liquid oxidizer and a liquid hydrocarbonfuel in a combustion chamber using said oxidizer in an amount in excessof that required for theoretically complete combustion and sutficient tocause the carbon res-tiling from combustion to unite with oxygen andform carbon dioxide and to generate a fluid coolant that reduoes thetemperature of the jet impinging on the turbine blades, combustionchamber and nozzles below that at which erosion thereof is likely tooccur, the-oxidizer being nitric acid and the fuel being aniline, theoxidizer 5 and fuel being employed in a ratio of the order of 5 to 1 byweight.

2. The method of operating a liquid fuels turbine to avoid carbonizationand erosion of the turbine blades, combustion chamber and nozzles whichcomprises mixing and burning a liquid oxidizer and a liquid hydrocarbonfuel in a combustion chamber using said oxidizer in an amount in excessof that required for theoretically complete combustion and sufficient tocause the carbon resulting from combustion to unite with oxygen and formcarbon dioxide and to generate a fluid coolant that reduces thetemperature of the jet impinging on the turbine blades, combustionchamber and nozzles below that at which erosion thereof is likely tooccur, the oxidizer being an acid and the fuel being an aniline, theoxidizer and fuel being employed on the order of 5 to 1 by weight, theignition thereof being spontaneous.

3. A prime mover comprising, in combination, a hous ing, a combustionchamber in said housing, means in said chamber for supplying and mixinga liquid fuel and a. liquid oxidizer therein, a gas director in thedischarge end of said combustion chamber having one or more nozzlestherein, and a turbine wheel in said housing having an outside diametersubstantially equal to the diameter of said chamber and arranged to bedriven by the jet or jets from said nozzle or nozzles, said gas directorbeing positioned between said chamber and said wheel, said chamber beingconstructed to create pressure in said chamber upon the burning of saidfuels, said nozzles being constructed to admit said pressurecontinuously during said burning of said fuels directly to a portion ofsaid turbine wheel, said housing being formed of an outer shell and asmaller inner shell spaced from said outer shell, said inner shell beingsurrounded by a layer of carbon disposed between said shells.

4. In a prime mover adapted for comparatively short periods ofoperation, a tank adapted to contain a supply of liquid oxidizer, asecond tank adapted to contain a supply of liquid fuel, fuel conveyingmeans adapted to convey said oxidizer and said fuel from said tanks,cor-- trol valves in said conveyors, a generally tubular housing havingan open end and a hemispherical opposite end, said opposite end beingsealed against the admission of outside air therethrough, meansconnected to said conveying means and extending Within saidhemispherical housing end and adapted to mix said liquid oxidizer andsaid liquid fuel within said hemispherical housing end, a gas directorin the tubular portion of said housing adjacent said hemispherical endportion, said gas director comprising a plate having an outside diametersubstantially equal to the inside diameter of said housing tubularportion and having one or more transverse apertures adjacent theperimeter thereof, said plate constituting a seal for said hemisphericalend except for said apertures and forming with said hemispherical end acombustion chamber, said apertures lying in a plane parallel to the axesof said chamber and gas director, a turbine wheel within said tubularportion and having an outside diameter substantially equal to the insidediameter thereof, said turbine wheel being positioned adjacent said gasdirector and having perimeter blades in alignment with said apertures,and a shaft secured to said turbine wheel and extending beyond saidhousing References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS 850,307 Lloyd et al. Apr. 16, 1907 1,160,145 Davis Nov. 16, 19151,197,456 Dinsmore Sept. 5, 1916 1,213,172 Erwin Jan. 23, 1917 1,584,200Suplee May 11, 1926 1,809,271 Goddard June 9, 1931 1,827,246 LorenzenOct. 13, 1931 1,960,810 Gordon May 29, 1934 2,049,446 Holzwarth Aug. 4,1936 2,283,863 Achterrnau May 19, 1942 2,326,072 Seippel Aug. 3, 19432,348,754 Ray May 16, 1944 2,402,418 Kroon June 18, 1946 2,443,841Sweeney et al. June 22, 1948 2,450,950 Goddard Oct. 12, 1948 2,455,845Wells Dec. 7, 1948 2,523,009 Goddard Sept. 19, 1950 2,531,761 ZucrowNov. 28, 1950 OTHER REFERENCES Journal of The American Rocket Society#61, March 1945, pages 4, 5, 6 and 15.

Journal of The American Rocket Society #72, December 1947, pages 6, 7, 8and 35.

Coast Artillery Journal, pages 30-33, November December 1947.

Coast Artillery Journal, pages 25-29, January-February 1948.

1. THE METHOD OF OPERATING A LIQUID FUELS TURBINE TO AVOID CARBONIZATIONAND EROSION OF THE TURBINE BLADES, COMBUSTION CHAMBER AND NOZZLES WHICHCOMPRISES MIXING AND BURNING A LIQUID OXIDIZER AND A LIQUID HYDROCARBONFUEL IN A COMBUSTION CHAMBER USING SAID OXIDIZER IN AN AMOUNT IN EXCESSOF THAT REQUIRED FOR THEORETICALLY COMPLETE COMBUSTION AND SUFFICIENT TOCAUSE THE CARBON RESULTING FROM COMBUSTION TO UNITE WITH OXYGEN AND FORMCARBON DIOXIDE AND TO GENERATE A FLUID COOLANT THAT REDUCES THETEMPERATURE OF THE JET IMPINGING ON THE TURBINE BLADES, COMBUSTIONCHAMBER AND NOZZLES BELOW THAT AT WHICH EROSION THEROF IS LIKELY TOOCCUR, THE OXIDIZER BEING NITRIC ACID AND THE FUEL BEING ANILINE, THEOXIDIZER AND FUEL BEING EMPLOYED IN A RATIO OF THE ORDER OF 5 TO 1 BYWEIGHT.
 3. A PRIME MOVER COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A HOUSING, ACOMBUSTION CHAMBER IN SAID HOUSING, MEANS IN SAID CHAMBER FOR SUPPLYINGAND MIXING A LIQUID FUEL AND A LIQUID OXIDIZER THEREIN, A GAS DIRECTORIN THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER HAVING ONE OR MORENOZZLES THEREIN, AND A TURBINE WHEEL IN SAID HOUSING HAVING AN OUTSIDEDIAMETER SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE DIAMERER OF SAID CHAMBER ANDARRANGED TO BE DRIVEN BY THE JET OR JETS FROM SAID NOZZLE OR NOZZLES,SAID GAS DIRECTOR BEING POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID CHAMBER AND SAID WHEEL,SAID CHAMBER BEING CONSTRUCTED TO CREATE PRESSURE IN SAID CHAMBER UPONTHE BURNING OF SAID FUELS, SAID NOZZLES BEING CONSTRUCTED TO ADMIT SAIDPRESSURE CONTINUOUSLY DURING SAID BURNING OF SAID FUEL DIRECTLY TO APORTION OF SAID TURBIN WHEEL, SAID HOUSING BEING FORMED OF AN OUTERSHELL AND A SMALLER INNER SHELL SPACED FROM SAID OUTER SHELL, SAID INNERSHELL BEING SURROUNDED BY A LAYER OF CARBON DISPOSED BETWEEN SAIDSHELLS.